New Announcements:

1.    Central Shenandoah Valley Garden Symposium- Weyers Cave, Virginia- October 19

a.     “Going Native: Let me tell you about the bees and the flowers and the trees” from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM at the Blue Ridge Community College, Plecker Center

b.    This event promises to provide both a fun and informative focus on the important role of native plants in our everyday life, preserving native plants, insect and animal species, and how to maximize the use of native plants in your landscape.

c.     Join Doug Tallamy, Heather Holm, Ian Caton, and Kevin Conrad for a fun and informational day!   Only $75 to attend (includes lunch)

                                              i.     Register Now! Registration has been extended to: October 10^th

                                             ii.     You may call after the 10th to see if space is available. 

2.    State Office Webinar Series– Online via Zoom- October 10^th

a.     Join Dr. Holly Scoggins for the return of our monthly webinar series!

b.    Join us via Zoom on October 10, 2019 at 10:00 am

3.    Biweekly Update Submission form – Please use this form for submitting future biweekly update items. Due to staffing limitations through the summer of 2019, submissions sent through email could be missed

October Announcements:

4.    2019 ESVMG MG Training Registration Open – October 2- November 13, January 15- February 26 – VA Tech Research Center, Painter, VA

a.     The Eastern Shore Master Gardener (ESVMG) Program is accepting applications for the 2019 Master Gardener training class.

b.    The classes will be held in Painter beginning October 2nd and continue every Wednesday from 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. until November 13th, break for the holidays and then resume January 15-February 26.

c.     For more information and the application contact the Eastern Shore of Virginia Gardeners hotline at (757)-678-7946 ext.29, the web site www.esvmg.com, or e-mail esmgva@gmail.com. 

d.    Fee is $100 for materials and lectures by local experts.

5.    ESVMG Garden Symposium– October 19^th, 2019- Cheriton, VA

a.     The Eastern Shore of Virginia Master Gardeners (ESVMG) announces their second Garden Symposium which will offer lectures on a wide range of gardening topics by accomplished garden speakers. 

b.    The symposium will be held on Saturday, October 19, at the Cheriton Fire Station, 21334 Bayside Road. The daylong event begins at 8:00 am and includes five lectures, lunch and a lively raffle of local artisan items. 

c.     Topics include “The Landscape Revolution: Foodscaping with Natives,”  “The Landscape Revolution: Perennial Combinations,” “Make Your Garden Your Own” and more. 

d.    To read more about the upcoming event and download a registration form, go to www.esvmg.com.  You can also contact ESVMG through email at esvmg@gmail.com for a registration form or call (757) 678-7946, ext. 29

6.    Online Plant ID Classes– from Longwood Gardens and NC State- July 8th- October 31st

a.     Reduced fee for Extension Professionals so you can brush up on your plant ID skills and preview the classes to determine if they will be useful as advanced training opportunities for your volunteers.

                                              i.     Discount Code for Extension Master Gardener Volunteers & Master Naturalists – MASTER ($98 fee) = $97 discount

                                             ii.     Discount Code for Extension Professionals – AGENT ($50 fee) = $145 discount

b.    Course instructor, Preston Montague, is a landscape designer, educator and artist.  He has a bachelor's degree in horticulture and a master’s degree in landscape architecture, both from NC State.  He has experience teaching at NC State, NC A & T, and many botanical gardens in the region.

c.     Dates have been added for 2020 Plant ID classes

Other Announcements:

7.    Follow the State Office on social media:

                                              i.     Facebook

                                             ii.     Instagram

                                           iii.     YouTube

8.     Resources for fertilization of lawns and for those involved with Healthy Virginia Lawns programming  

9.    Do you have questions coming in to your Extension Master Gardener program and need to find some answers? Extension Search Resources for EMG Questions

10. Registration now open for online Plant Identification Classes by Longwood Gardens and NC State – Click Here

11. An update from National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture: 2018 accomplishments letter

12. Visit the VCE Lawn and Garden Calendar!

13. Every Kid in a Park Program

14. Spotted Lanternfly, an invasive pest insect– found in Winchester, VA- January 2018

a.     For information regarding the quarantine please see attached link

15. eXtension Good and Bad bugs webinar series – Feb 1 – Dec 6, 2019

16. Biennial 2018 EMG Summary– from the Extension Master Gardener National Committee

a.     Data collected indicates there are 86,076 EMG volunteers throughout the United States and Washington, D.C, contributing 5.6 million hours educating the public, providing youth programming, and facilitating produce donated to local food banks.

b.    While this is only the beginning of the value EMGs provide in their communities each year, 2018 efforts are estimated to have contributed 140 million dollars in value to the general public. Our volunteers reported over 8.6 million contacts and continue to be the front line of Extension’s consumer horticulture efforts. Forty-six states participated in this report.

17. Basil Downy Mildew: Occurrence Monitoring and Info Website for Gardeners

a.     A new website, created by Margaret McGrath and the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University, on monitoring occurrence of downy mildew on basil in the US and Canada:

                                              i.     It maps occurrences and replaces them into a GoogleDocs spreadsheet since 2009. There is information about BDM at the website that is geared for gardeners. Gardeners have been the primary and most important reporters in helping with monitoring this disease.

b.    A handout for gardeners about reporting occurrences of BDM and 2 other important diseases: late blight and cucurbit downy mildew.

1.    SeedMoney: Funding opportunity for public food gardens– Online- Deadline: November 12

a.     SeedMoney runs a once-a-year "crowd granting" opportunity open to public food gardens without any geographic restrictions. Funds can be used to start a new garden project or sustain an existing one. Past grantees include schools, community gardens, food banks, detention centers and homeless shelters, to name a few. 

b.    Participating projects set up crowdfunding pages for themselves using custom-built software and use challenge grants to motivate donors from within their communities to give.

                                              i.     Over the past 4 years, 1100 garden projects have raised nearly $900,000, which means that the average project raises roughly $800 with many projects raising $2000 or more. 255 grants will be offered this year. Grants will be on a sliding scale ($50-$700) to accommodate a wide range of projects, big and small. 

                                             ii.     To find instructions on how to complete an application, please refer to the provided link in the title.

2.    Virginia Association of Fairs, Caroline County Fair and Virginia Cooperative Extension Fall Judging School– November 16^th– VA Tech; Blacksburg, VA

a.    Who should attend Judging School?

                                              i.     Agents, department superintendents, fair board members, Master Gardeners, and anyone interested or associated with the home goods sections of local’s fairs.

                                             ii.     Please see the attached registration form for more information. All participants must agree to be listed in our on-line Fair Judging School Directory as available apprentice or certified judges for state and local fairs and other events in Virginia. 

b.    Our goal is to train and certify participants to judge at local fairs, State Fair, or any other related competition. There are many benefits to having certified judges including uniformity of judging standards, ethics training, and having a pool of available judges across the Commonwealth. All instructors are certified and have years of experience judging in Virginia and Maryland.

                                              i.     For more information: call Jeannie Dudding at 540-921-3455.

                                             ii.     Registrations should be sent to:

 MACINE WILLIAMS, JUDGING SCHOOL

 P.O. BOX 1207; RUTHER GLEN, VA  22546

 Email:  macine.lakeland@gmail.com

3.    Medicinal and Culinary Mushroom Workshop– November 16^th -VCE Appomattox

a.     Appomattox Master Gardeners are sponsoring a mushroom workshop in association with VCE – Appomattox and VSU.

b.    Participants will learn how to grow mushrooms from a local expert!

c.     Participants will learn how to prepare mushrooms to eat from a culinary expert!

                                              i.     Including live demonstrations!

                                             ii.     Morning refreshments will be provided by Appomattox Master Gardeners.

·      Fee $10. Class will be held from 9am to 12 noon at the:

VCE – Appomattox: 177 Morton Lane, Appomattox, VA 24522

·      Space is limited, so call 434-352-8244 to reserve your spot!

4.    Biweekly Update Submission form – Please use this form for submitting future biweekly update items.

Other Announcements:

5.    Follow the State Office on social media:

                                              i.     Facebook

                                             ii.     Instagram

                                           iii.     YouTube

6.     Resources for fertilization of lawns and for those involved with Healthy Virginia Lawns programming  

7.    Do you have questions coming in to your Extension Master Gardener program and need to find some answers? Extension Search Resources for EMG Questions

8.    Registration now open for online Plant Identification Classes by Longwood Gardens and NC State – Click Here

9.    An update from National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture: 2018 accomplishments letter

10. Visit the VCE Lawn and Garden Calendar!

11. Every Kid in a Park Program

12. Spotted Lanternfly, an invasive pest insect– found in Winchester, VA- January 2018

a.     For information regarding the quarantine please see attached link

13. eXtension Good and Bad bugs webinar series – Feb 1 – Dec 6, 2019

14. Biennial 2018 EMG Summary– from the Extension Master Gardener National Committee

a.     Data collected indicates there are 86,076 EMG volunteers throughout the United States and Washington, D.C, contributing 5.6 million hours educating the public, providing youth programming, and facilitating produce donated to local food banks.

b.    While this is only the beginning of the value EMGs provide in their communities each year, 2018 efforts are estimated to have contributed 140 million dollars in value to the general public. Our volunteers reported over 8.6 million contacts and continue to be the front line of Extension’s consumer horticulture efforts. Forty-six states participated in this report.

15. Basil Downy Mildew: Occurrence Monitoring and Info Website for Gardeners

a.     A new website, created by Margaret McGrath and the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University, on monitoring occurrence of downy mildew on basil in the US and Canada:

                                              i.     It maps occurrences and replaces them into a GoogleDocs spreadsheet since 2009. There is information about BDM at the website that is geared for gardeners. Gardeners have been the primary and most important reporters in helping with monitoring this disease.

b.    A handout for gardeners about reporting occurrences of BDM and 2 other important diseases: late blight and cucurbit downy mildew.